My mom thinks it’s a conspiracy because “no one in Russia or NK has it”.
Yes, could be cover-up, but could also be no one wants to go there and no one can leave.
Do you really believe that no one can leave Russia? Every citizen has the constitutional right to come and go as they wish. The only way to be restricted from leaving is to take a certain category of “essential” government job, in which case you sign away the right to leave for the duration of your employment.